On July 9, 2013 Shimkus's office released a press statement saying that he was recovering from non-surgical heart procedures, after noticing an abnormal heartbeat.[3] He underwent an electrophysiology test, followed by an ablation at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis and needed some time to recover, but returned to work on July 17, 2013.[3][4]

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Shimkus is a more moderate right of center Republican Party vote. As a result, he may break with the Republican Party line more than his fellow members.

Biography

Shimkus is a lifelong resident of Collinsville, Illinois. Shimkus earned his bachelor's degree at the United States Military Academy. After serving his five-year Army commitment, he entered the reserves, retiring in 2008 as a lieutenant colonel.[2]

Shimkus earned a teaching certificate from Christ College Irvine (now Concordia University Irvine) and began teaching at Metro East Lutheran High School in Edwardsville, Illinois. He earned an MBA from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 1987.[2]

Issues

Presidential preference

Coal-fired power plants

Shimkus and Reps.Rodney Davis (R) and William Enyart (D) criticized President Obama's plans announced June 25, 2013 to make sharp cuts in carbon emissions by using the federal Environmental Protection Agency to impose tougher restrictions on coal-fired power plants.[8] The three congressmen harshly criticized the stricter rules proposed by Obama as job-killers that will "needllessly spike electricity costs for consumer."[8]

Jobs: "...Supports opening new markets for American-made goods across the globe through Free Trade Agreements."

Energy: "...supports coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear as essential components of America’s energy infrastructure while we allow the free-market to foster the growth in wind, solar and other renewables."[10]

Abortion Issues

Budgetary, Spending, and Tax Issues

Campaign Finance and Government Reform Issues

Crime Issues

Education Issues

Employment Issues

Environment and Energy Issues

Gun Issues

Health Issues

Immigration Issues

International Aid, International Policy, and International Trade Issues

National Security Issues

Social Issues

Social Security Issues

Welfare and Poverty Issues

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Shimkus voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 85 Republicans that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[11]

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for John Shimkus, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, John Shimkus won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Tim Bagwell (D) in the general election.[14]

U.S. House, Illinois District 19 General Election, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

John Shimkusincumbent

71.2%

166,166

Democratic

Tim Bagwell

28.8%

67,132

Total Votes

233,298

2008

On November 4, 2008, John Shimkus won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Steve Cox (D) in the general election.[15]

U.S. House, Illinois District 19 General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

John Shimkusincumbent

64.2%

187,121

Democratic

Steve Cox

35.8%

104,393

Total Votes

291,514

2006

On November 7, 2006, John Shimkus won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Steve Cox (D) in the general election.[16]

U.S. House, Illinois District 19 General Election, 2006

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

John Shimkusincumbent

64.2%

187,121

Democratic

Steve Cox

35.8%

104,393

Total Votes

291,514

2004

On November 2, 2004, John Shimkus won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Tim Bagwell (D) in the general election.[17]

U.S. House, Illinois District 19 General Election, 2004

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

John Shimkusincumbent

69.4%

213,451

Democratic

Tim Bagwell

30.6%

94,303

Total Votes

307,754

2002

On November 5, 2002, John Shimkus won election to the United States House. He defeated David D. Phelps (D) in the general election.[18]

U.S. House, Illinois District 19 General Election, 2002

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

John Shimkus

54.8%

133,956

Democratic

David D. Phelps

45.2%

110,517

Total Votes

244,473

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Shimkus is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Shimkus raised a total of $10,261,830 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 5, 2013.[19]

2012

Breakdown of the source of Shimkus's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Shimkus won re-election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Shimkus's campaign committee raised a total of $2,107,579 and spent $2,384,832.[23] This is more than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.[24]

Lifetime missed votes

According to the website GovTrack, Shimkus missed 299 of 11,058 roll call votes from Jan 1997 to Mar 2013. This amounts to 2.7%, which is worse than the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.[31]

Congressional staff salaries

2011

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Shimkus paid his congressional staff a total of $1,162,756 in 2011. He ranks 5th on the list of the highest paid Republican representative staff salaries and ranks 29th overall of the highest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Illinois ranks 46th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[32]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Shimkus' net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $113,010 and $1,179,998. That averages to $646,504, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2011 of $7,859,232. His average net worth increased by 9.67% from 2010.[33]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Shimkus' net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $49,010 and $1,129,997. That averages to $589,503.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[34]

Recent news

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Personal

Shimkus and his wife, Karen, were married in 1987 when she moved to Collinsville, Illinois. They have three sons - David, Joshua, and Daniel. They reside in Collinsville, Illinois.[6]

On July 9, 2013 Shimkus's office released a press statement saying that he was recovering from nonsurgical heart procedures, after noticing an abnormal heartbeat.[3] He underwent an electrophysiology test, followed by an ablation at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.[3] He will need some time to recover and so will miss House activities for approximately a week, as well as the hearing in the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, which he chairs, but is expected to return to work July 15, 2013.[3]